On March 24th, our family returned to Carryville, TN to compete in the 2016 RKNA Southeastern Regional Sieger with our male Rottweiler Zeus Sohn Von Holbrook Vom Krafthaus. This show was put on by the Smokey Mountain Working Rottweiler Klub(SMWRK), a member Rottweiler Klub of North Ameria (RKNA) and has the well-deserved reputation of being one of the most enjoyable and best run Sieger shows in the US. In fact, we only decided to compete in this show due to it’s proximity to us (only a 4 hour drive) and the desire to support a great show which we enjoyed last year when getting Zeus’s Standard Evaluation done. Zeus has been doing IPO work and we’ve leaned him out considerably (being lighter is kinder to his hips and joints for the work involved) – he’s down a bit over 15 lbs from his show weight. So we really had no business in a show ring.
One of the secrets to the success of the SWMRK-run Sieger is their location – Cove Lake Park, TN. You couldn’t ask for a more picturesque site for a show – set against the backdrop of Cove Lake and the Smokey Mountains. Here’s a photo of the Sieger ring at the show – if you look closely you can see the lake in the background, which is a short walk from where the show is held:
Barbecue chicken and pulled pork is cooked up for lunch everyday and sold for a very modest fee – lunch for my wife and I was just $12.00, but I gave the $20.00 and told them to keep the change – hopefully I wasn’t the only one. It’s a short walk up the hill to the bathroom facilities which are very clean and modern. You can pull your vehicle VERY close to the ring as well – there’s plenty of parking, but get there early if you want a prime spot under one of the trees for shade. As you can tell from the above photo, the weather was nearly ideal – a bit chilly on Saturday, but plenty warm on Sunday with no rain.
My wife had an injured foot, and wasn’t able to help me run, so my good buddy Matt Eggers agreed to help run each others dogs. Here’s a photo of me running his most excellent male I-toby Kao Bumbarin in the Open Male Class:
The show was judged by Bianka Miksic-Kasun (FCI – Croatia). As with many judges at shows, I didn’t agree with several of her placements but thought she did an overall good job. For example Matt’s dog that I mentioned above finished V4, but really deserved a better placement. It was clear she had an almost zero tolerance for dogs that displayed aggression in the ring – at least one dog and handler were asked to leave the ring. I hate to see that happen to anyone, but by the same token if a dog isn’t under control in the ring, then the owner/handler likely needs to spend more time with the dog outside the show ring dealing with the issues. The last thing anyone wants to see at a dog show is a person or another dog hurt due to aggressive behavior.
There were eight dogs entered in the Champion class, but a couple ended up not showing up. Zeus placed 4th, which far exceeded my expectations given Zeus’s weight.
Congratulations to Jeremy Spencer and the rest of the SMWRK club for another great show. I hope to see everyone again next year!
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